1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a touch input device, and more particularly, to an input device wherein signals for operating electronic equipment can be inputted in touch mode.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As an example of electronic equipment, a portable terminal is herein described. Examples of the portable terminal include a mobile phone mainly with a telephone function, a personal digital assistant (PDA) mainly with an electronic organizer function, a smart phone with both a telephone function and an electronic organizer function, a portable multimedia center (PMC) or a portable multimedia player (PMP) capable of playing videos, and the like. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of related art electronic equipment.
As shown in the figure, a case 1 defines an external appearance of the electronic equipment. The case 1 is composed of a front panel 3 and a rear panel 5. The front panel 3 defines a front surface and some portions of side surfaces of the case 1, while the rear panel 5 defines a rear surface and the other portions of the side surfaces of the case 1.
A display unit 7 is provided to substantially occupy an upper half of the front panel 3. A liquid crystal panel or the like is used as the display unit 7 on which necessary information can be displayed. A jog button 9 and function buttons 9′ are provided on a lower half of the front panel 3. Predetermined function of the jog and function buttons 9 and 9′ can be performed when the buttons are pushed and operated. Additional function buttons 9′ are also provided on the side surfaces of the case 1.
However, the related art touch input device has the following problems.
That is, the jog and function buttons 9 and 9′ and the like are always exposed on the front panel 3 to the outside. In particular, since the jog and function buttons 9 and 9′ are formed to protrude from a surface of the front panel 3, the buttons may be inadvertently pressed down.
Further, since the jog and function buttons 9 and 9′ protrude from the front panel 3, the external appearance of the electronic equipment cannot be designed in various ways. Therefore, there is a problem in that a variety of consumer needs cannot be satisfied.
Furthermore, the related art jog and function buttons 9 and 9′ cannot be easily identified and distinguished from one another in a dark place. Thus, there is another problem in that it is relatively difficult to operate the buttons 9 and 9′ in a dark place.